Outdoor Kodiak: Fresh fish for springWouldn’t really fresh fish taste good about now? We do a great job of caring for our catch each year, assuring the best possible quality all winter long. But in the end, it’s still frozen fish. And when you love fish as much as we do, there is a difference. But it’s still a long ways to summer an...

Outdoor Kodiak: Take advantage of longer days in hunt for haresLong seasons tend to fall under the radar. You start off with enthusiasm for the renewed opportunity, but slowly other interests take over. The season is still open, but you’ve moved on to other things. And finally, with little fanfare, the season has passed. Consider silver salmon as a prime exa...

Outdoor Kodiak: Clean your freezerWith the promise of warming weather in the not to distant future, it’s time for an important chore. Cleaning your freezer. Do it now. Don’t wait until a glut of fresh fish comes pouring through your door. For us, it’s more than getting rid of old fish to make room for the new. It’s an opportunity...

Outdoor Kodiak: Winter LakesThis has been a warm winter compared to recent years. Sure Kodiak has had lots of water as usual. But most has come as rain rather than snow. It recently occurred to me that the cold winters forced me out of one of my favorite pursuits. It iced over all the lakes, and I had to give up my winter t...

Outdoor Kodiak: Halibut fishing todayI wonder how many people realize that halibut season opened Feb. 1. For that matter, how many knew it was closed for the month of January? Almost no one fishes halibut in the winter, whether due to the weather and rough seas or the fact that halibut move into deeper water for the colder months. B...

Outdoor Kodiak: Knock around gunsI grew up in the Southwest in an era when every truck had a gun in a window rack and every saddle had a gun boot. No one locked doors on their houses or trucks, and no one worried much about losing a gun or anything else to thieves. Guns, especially rifles, were a part of everyday life and unrema...

Outdoor Kodiak: Time to test your gearOutdoor enthusiasts on Kodiak, especially hunters, have to confront the possibility of becoming stranded in rotten weather. Wind, rain and snow can quickly descend, stranding you for hours or days with only the gear you’re carrying. Most of us work to avoid getting stuck, but we also carry surviv...

Outdoor Kodiak: Winter reloadingI’m not alone in doing most of my ammunition reloading in winter. In fact the long hours of darkness and rotten weather are the perfect settings for the time consuming process. It continues to amaze me that more hunters don’t reload their own ammo. Participants in most other shooting sports do it...